1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical carrying cases. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a new and unique carrying case for personal medication items, wherein a removable medication tray is provided for organizationally arranging pill bottles, vials, and related supplies with a form-fitting case insert having retaining straps to support the items within the interior of the case.
Many individuals require doses of medication throughout the day to maintain their health or to treat various ailments. Some of these individuals require an assortment of medication that is administered in pill form or more direct forms, such as insulin injections or the like. Organizing and transporting medication in pill or vial form can be a bothersome task, where the user must store the items appropriately and in such a manner to allow for later retrieval, while at the same time preventing the items from spilling, interacting with one another, degrading, or becoming misplaced.
When traveling, organization is of the utmost priority, as the medication must be available and in a known location to allow for ready administration of correct medication types and dosages in a timely. Self-administered medication requires a careful eye for correct dosages, which requires taking proper measures to adequately organize pill containers, vials, and other medication such that their labels are visible and each medication type is readily accessible when required.
Patients therefore require organized and efficient access to their medication so they can administer the medication on the appropriate schedule, while also making the medication available in the event of an emergency situation. Lazily storing the medication in a purse or storage bag can lead to missing pill bottles and instances where the pills may be inadvertently left out of the travel bag altogether. These situations introduce a patient to potential health risks and even life threatening conditions if daily and regular medication is required for the patient to remain healthy throughout each day. Even in a less severe case, those patients who consistently miss their dosages of medication can introduce long term problems that can hamper their recovery and their overall treatment effectiveness, while also introducing variables that may not be considered by healthcare providers assessing the patient's progress with a given medication type.
The present invention provides a new and unique medication carrying device that employs a removable set of preformed support structures within the interior of the case. The support structures comprise a raised body and an upper surface having a plurality of depressions therealong for form-fitting to the exterior features of typical pill bottles, vials, and medical devices known in the art. The medication is supported within the depressions and further secured therein by way of removable strap retainment means, which secure the items therein and prevent relative movement within the case or dislodgment from within the depressions. Overall, the device improves the ability to organize medication and necessary supplies while traveling, while providing an efficient manner in which to support the items for the user to quickly recognize and retrieve necessary items as desired.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to medical carrying cases. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications, and generally relate to carrying cases and briefcases having particular internal structure for supporting different medication and treatment items while on the go. The following is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 7,565,979 to Gibson discloses a pill holding device that includes a housing case having two folding and connectable walls forming the case structure and an interior comprising a plurality of loops that extend from the inner surfaces of the case walls to secure medication bottles therein. The loops comprise stretchable material to form over the outer surface of the medication bottles, securing the same to the inner walls of the case. A lowermost pill case is further disposed within the case interior for storing loose pills and other items. While disclosing a novel carrying case for medication and their containers, the Gibson device fails to disclose the novel arrangement of the present invention, which provides a formed interior structure that accepts medication bottles therein and secures them within depressions by way of a retaining strap.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,006,846 to Robertson is another such device that discloses a portable carrying case for holding medication and medical vials while traveling. The case includes a securable lid and an interior volume, wherein a plurality of upstanding divider walls are disposed along the case interior surface for positioning vials and medication bottles. An elastic cord is slidable through aligned holes in upstanding divider walls to secure the medication between the divider walls and to prevent the medication from moving or dislodging therefrom. Similar to the Gibson device, the Robertson device fails to disclose the novel arrangement of the present carrying case interior, which includes a molded structure having a plurality of depressions for supporting medication bottles and supplies.
Finally, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0010575 to Sanka and 2006/0254950 to Barlog disclose medication organizers utilizing a case or similar structure, whereby a plurality of medication vials or containers are organized for a user such that their organized retrieval as facilitated while traveling. These devices, while disclosing unique carrying cases directed at medication, do not disclose the carrying case elements of the present invention, which contemplates an internal arrangement having defined apertures and depressions therein for supporting specific or generic medicine bottles and similar supplies.
The present invention provides a new and novel medical carrying case having removable pill bottle and vial support members within the interior of the case. The support members include a defined structure having depressions along their upper surface to support medication bottles, vials, and other supplies therein, while a securement strap is positioned thereover. It is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art, and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing medical carrying case devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.